Sanchez-Forero D., Silva Jr J., Silva M., Bastos J., Mori M., 2013, Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Gas-Liquid Flow in a Rectangular Bubble Column with Centralized Aeration Flow Pattern, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 32, 1561-1566.
Bubble columns are multiphase contact devices for mass and heat transfer, which are intensively used in different industrial areas. Flow and turbulence in these equipments are induced by bubble rise motion. In this work, the fluid dynamics of gas-liquid flow in rectangular bubble columns with centralized aeration were investigated via experiments and CFD simulations. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) experiments were performed in a rectangular bubble column, in order to obtain additional data of the flow field (axial velocity, turbulent kinetic energy and stress tensors) of continuous phase (liquid). The experimental results show typical axial mean velocity profiles of the liquid, upward flow in the core region and a down-flow near the wall. The Large Eddy Simulation predicted well the flow behaviour in the bubble column.